Society, you're a crazy breed.

Society, you’re a crazy breed.

Most people have read and understood the meaning of Chris McCandless’s life in the book Into the Wild by John Krakauer. You could also relate it to the song “Society” by Eddie Vedder that came out in 2007. Eddie Vedder started off as one of the three main guitarists for Pearl Jam, soon later  Vedder made his first solo album  for the movie “Into the Wild”. You can tell that the main focus in the song was greed and how people in the world today are not satisfied with what they have. You could also infer that Eddie Vedder makes a strong connection with Chris mainly throughout this song and of the whole soundtrack for the movie based on this theory. Vedder does this by conveying what McCandless was thinking and feeling during his life in the movie by the small but powerful words he chose to use in the lyrics. Another way you can compare the song and McCandless is the melody of the song. “Society” by Vedder is a very deep and touching tone of melody that helps you look into the life of Chris McCandless.  

The song “Society” relates to the world today on the aspect of technology. When you read the lyrics Vedder states “And you think you have to want more than you need” it can be related to how people are greedy in today’s society. Whether it’s the new iPhone 6, a Playstation 4, or a brand new car, people want these things just because they are the latest thing out there. In the mind of a person today we have to be on top and have the newest piece of technology. This shows that we are being greedy instead of being satisfied with what we already have. Vedder says in the next line “Until you have it all, you won't be free”, this means to me that you won’t feel fully satisfied until you have earned everything you worked for.Although, as a person is today’s society, you should never be fully satisfied, because you should always want to be better. When Vedder says “free” in the song i think it means how people can’t escape the feeling of greed until its too late.

The song also relates to Chris McCandless because Chris is the exact opposite of being greedy. Chris is happy with what he has in life along with what he has accomplished on his own. All the money he earned he gave away because he said “money makes people cautious” which also shows you how humble he is. Another thing is when his parents try to buy him a new car after his graduation. His parents say that the car that he has is too old and they are scared that it might break down on him and leave him stranded. He says that the car he has is fine and that he doesn’t want a new car. A lot of young adults today would obviously take that deal because they want the newest thing they can get their hands on. This is a great example because this shows how satisfied Chris is with his life and his belongings.

There was an article written by a man named Chandler Broadbent that explained how the story of Chris McCandless touched his life and how it helped him see life in a different way. The story gets deeper and deeper as you read and a lot of people can’t transition and understanding the meaning the author is inferring, and that is a main problem when reading a story like this. When people hear about Chris’s story, they want to change their lives for the better instead of living in fear.